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A review by elly29
It Occurs to Me That I Am America: New Stories and Art by Jonathan Santlofer
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
It's a collection of short stories -- some resonated, some didn't. It's interesting that this collection was written and collected as a direct response to Trump's election, and talks about issues we were dealing with 20 years ago, and 4 years ago, and that we are still dealing with today.
Although the narrations were good, I think the experience lost something, as I was unable to download the accompanying artworks, or spend time lingering over favorite authors and queueing up further reading.
Favorite stories included the one about the young Dominican man who killed the white girl and his trial; both stories about the women who survived concentration camps; the Miami lady and the Haitian immigrants, and the eerie story of the poor Black father who had to watch his son drown all because the son had sent a Christmas card to a white girl.
Skippables included Neil Gaiman's story, the one about the Russian girl who's a prostitute, and the one without named characters just interjected statements narrating common reactions in the Trump era. (Though, these all may have been better as reads instead of listens.)
Although the narrations were good, I think the experience lost something, as I was unable to download the accompanying artworks, or spend time lingering over favorite authors and queueing up further reading.
Favorite stories included the one about the young Dominican man who killed the white girl and his trial; both stories about the women who survived concentration camps; the Miami lady and the Haitian immigrants, and the eerie story of the poor Black father who had to watch his son drown all because the son had sent a Christmas card to a white girl.
Skippables included Neil Gaiman's story, the one about the Russian girl who's a prostitute, and the one without named characters just interjected statements narrating common reactions in the Trump era. (Though, these all may have been better as reads instead of listens.)